PRODUCTION: Wardrobe and Make-up
In preparation for filming scene 3, I began to think about how jack might look at this stage in his episode.
Many of the symptoms of BPD, and struggling with it, are difficult to represent visually in such a short amount of time. I realised that the things I could control were what Jack wears, his body language and how his face looks.
I briefed our actor Vince before each shoot on what types of body language might be expected during the different moods he was portraying. Some scenes were even re-shot to ensure enough nervous movement was present in Vince's hands and face. I asked Vince to adjust his posture to appear slumped over, slouched and lacking in confidence during scenes when Jack is meant to appear paranoid. I also asked Vince to appear confident and taller during our opening scene in which our character is manic.
I asked Vince to dress in scruffy clothes such as jogging bottoms, to show that our character is neglecting self-care. However I realised on the day of shoot 2 that myself and Vince have different ideas of what scruffy clothes are, and he wore jeans and a denim jacket instead, given more time and going forward I would improve by taking the time as researcher to prepare an inventory and be more specific to our actor. Although as this was not a paid opportunity for him, I do not expect him to be as aware of smaller details, or to remember smaller requests. I would bare this in mind in any future projects.
One symptom that seems overwhelmingly common in many cases of mental health deterioration, is a lack of sleep.
US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health conducted a study on the correlation between the sleep of quality and Borderline Personality Disorder. This was their conclusion:
"Individuals with borderline personality symptomatology demonstrate a poorer overall quality of sleep than those without these symptoms."
Sina Hafizi wrote in a paper for The School of Medicine, (Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran):
"Sleep problems are very common among psychiatric patients. Borderline personality disorder, as a common and severe mental disorder, is associated with different types of sleep disturbances, such as disturbances of sleep continuity, altered REM sleep regulation and nightmares. These disturbances are the result of interaction of the personality traits, concomitant and comorbid diseases and environmental factors."
"How To Fake Looking Sick And Get Out Of Stuff You Don't Want To Do" from xojane.com
Many of the symptoms of BPD, and struggling with it, are difficult to represent visually in such a short amount of time. I realised that the things I could control were what Jack wears, his body language and how his face looks.
I briefed our actor Vince before each shoot on what types of body language might be expected during the different moods he was portraying. Some scenes were even re-shot to ensure enough nervous movement was present in Vince's hands and face. I asked Vince to adjust his posture to appear slumped over, slouched and lacking in confidence during scenes when Jack is meant to appear paranoid. I also asked Vince to appear confident and taller during our opening scene in which our character is manic.
I asked Vince to dress in scruffy clothes such as jogging bottoms, to show that our character is neglecting self-care. However I realised on the day of shoot 2 that myself and Vince have different ideas of what scruffy clothes are, and he wore jeans and a denim jacket instead, given more time and going forward I would improve by taking the time as researcher to prepare an inventory and be more specific to our actor. Although as this was not a paid opportunity for him, I do not expect him to be as aware of smaller details, or to remember smaller requests. I would bare this in mind in any future projects.
One symptom that seems overwhelmingly common in many cases of mental health deterioration, is a lack of sleep.
US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health conducted a study on the correlation between the sleep of quality and Borderline Personality Disorder. This was their conclusion:
"Individuals with borderline personality symptomatology demonstrate a poorer overall quality of sleep than those without these symptoms."
Sina Hafizi wrote in a paper for The School of Medicine, (Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran):
"Sleep problems are very common among psychiatric patients. Borderline personality disorder, as a common and severe mental disorder, is associated with different types of sleep disturbances, such as disturbances of sleep continuity, altered REM sleep regulation and nightmares. These disturbances are the result of interaction of the personality traits, concomitant and comorbid diseases and environmental factors."
So I began to research how I can make Jack (Vince) appear tired, and lacking sleep during scene 3.
I referred to these tutorials. where in they mention making eyes appear tired:
"fake sickness with make-up!" from thebeautygypsy.com
This video by YouTube channell "dystopia rising" called, "Sick/Tired Make-up"
On the day of the shoot, I used bronzer to very slightly exaggerate the hollows of Vinces eye sockets and cheeks. I also used some blush to slightly redden Vinces cheeks and nose, and I added a very light brown shade around Vince's eyes and underneath to make him appear extra tired. We also messed up his hair and adjusted his posture accordingly. The look is intentionally by no means obvious, but ensures that I have done all I can with my resources to make our character appear to have neglected his self-care, with tired skin and eyes. What I was careful not to do, is to exaggerate the look, or give a scary "zombie" impression, as mental illness is too often related to horror films. this is a stigma I was careful not to perpetuate whilst deciding on the look.
If I were to do this again, I may have been slightly more generous with the use of make-up, or I would have conducted a screen test or mock scene in order to see exactly how affective the make-up would appear on screen.
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